Is mass tourism serious about sustainability?

Abstract

Is mass tourism making a serious paradigm shift towards sustainability, or is it merely a nudge? This issue may be examined from a range of perspectives (Weaver 2007), including: treatments in the academic literature; environmental management performance in the industry itself; tools such as ecolabels and awards which are intended to improve sustainability; the relative roles of consumers and corporations; the different perspectives of tourists from different nations; and the interplay between academic analysis and industry practice. These are considered in turn below.